DETROIT – In a city that runs on wheels, access to transportation is essential.
Free Bikes 4 Kidz, Mi-cycle, and Back Alley Bikes are three organizations with a mission to make bicycles accessible.
Bikes serve as multifaceted tools for the community, providing not only accessibility but also freedom and joy for all ages. These organizations are determined to make a difference by fixing up donated bikes, regardless of their condition.
These organizations are determined to make a difference, and they do so by fixing up donated bikes, regardless of their condition.
“We wanna put ourselves out of business by teaching you how to do it,” says Justin Thompson, co-manager of Back Alley Bikes. This Detroit nonprofit, established in 2000, focuses on bicycle education, recycling, and maintenance, servicing the community for the past 25 years.
“People that just need transportation, people that just got a job and it’s out a little bit further, it’s on a bus line that doesn’t run as late as they need to get home, or they just need to maybe -- one of the best uses of a bike is it makes a mile feel like a block, makes two miles feel like something you can do in 15 minutes. All of a sudden, that city feels a little shorter,” Thompson says.
This commitment to creating accessibility is shared by many in Detroit.
Brady Staples, a Detroiter, exemplifies the transformative power of bikes.
“People need bikes like people who can’t afford a car, like myself. My feet don’t work right, so I can’t just go for a walk,” Staples says. “I need a bike just in order to go to the store, go to doctor’s appointments, everything, visit family.”
Brady believes that “bikes are a piece of transportation, motor transportation, a second mode of transportation, almost like the first are feet, right?”
This belief drives him to volunteer at Back Alley Bikes, making it part of his Thursday night routine to spread the mobility of bikes he has received to others.
Back Alley Bikes offers “Do It Yourself open shop nights” on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., where community members can use tools and parts to repair their bikes. Volunteers are also present to assist with tune-ups.
Back Alley Bikes hosts a seven-week-long class called “Wrench, Learn and Give,” where participants can fix a bike that will go directly to their kid donation program. This class provides a more structured way for individuals to learn about bike maintenance.
Another volunteer, Dylan Pyle, emphasized the organization’s mission: “All the work they do is designed towards giving more access to the community, kids, and adults in a city that needs transit really bad.”
These organizations host various events and giveaways throughout the year, striving to support their community.
In Metro Detroit, you can join the mission. The “Go 4 It” event will be held Tuesday, June 10, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the Oakland Mall in Troy.
Free Bikes 4 Kidz, Mi-Cycle, and Back Alley Bikes will be on hand to accept bike donations. You, too, can help put Detroit on wheels.
---> Volunteers, donors gear up for Wheelie Good Cause to get Metro Detroit rolling again